At state baseball tourney, Southeast coaches bring loads of experience to dugouts

At the state baseball tournament this weekend at Mulcahy Stadium, a couple of the biggest stars aren't taking any swings or throwing any balls.

They're running the show from the dugout.

Southeast Conference teams Juneau and Sitka are coached by alumni who are among the most successful baseball players to come out of Alaska.

Juneau's coach is Chad Bentz, a 1999 graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School. One of two Alaskans to make it to the Major Leagues, he's the only Alaskan to date with a big-league hit and he's one of only two men in history who were born with one hand and went on to play in MLB.

Sitka's coach is Matt Way, who graduated from Sitka High in 2005. He starred in college for Washington State, was a fifth-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Phillies and retired from baseball in 2014 after five years in the minor leagues.

Both were left-handed pitchers. Both returned to their hometowns in 2014 and took over as head coach at their alma maters for the 2015 high school season. Both have guided their teams to state-tournament appearances two times in the last three years.

"It's been a lot of fun, especially coaching at my old high school," Bentz said. "I never thought I'd be doing that."

Bentz retired from baseball in 2008 after years as a pro and lived in Vermont before returning to Alaska. He appeared in 40 big-league games – 36 with the Montreal Expos in 2004 and four with the Florida Marlins in 2005, going 0-3 with 18 strikeouts in just under 30 innings.

He jokes that he's the third most-famous Bentz in Juneau – behind his mother, Mary, a longtime nurse in the city, and his brother, Josh, a state trooper who appeared on the Alaska State Troopers reality show.

"Some people ask me if I'm famous and I say, 'Do you know who I am?' They say 'no,' and I say 'There's your answer,' '' he said.

The thing that resonates with high school players, he said, is learning that his MLB strikeout victims include Suzuki Ichiro.

But that was then. Now, he's the activities director and baseball coach at Juneau.

"My playing days are over. It's about (the kids) now," he said.

As coaches, Bentz and Way try to teach good habits to athletes who play a game that is all about habits.

"One of our main lessons is getting yourself ready for the game," Way said. "Some guys will drink Gatorade or an energy drink or go for a run before a game. You need that on-your-own time to get yourself ready. I tell them, 'I want you to get selfish here, because if you have a good game, we have a good game.' ''

Way said that when he was at Washington State – where as a senior he set the school's single-season strikeout record with 124 — he learned he needed quiet time before a game.

"I found out in college that pump-up music was no good for me," he said. "I needed slow music. I needed to breathe."

On Thursday, when Sitka reliever Emmitt Anderson got in a jam in the final inning while trying to protect a one-run lead over the Service Cougars, Way made a visit to the mound. Sitka led 4-3 but Service had runners at first and second with two out.

"I said to (him), 'Breathe. Breathe with your mouth,' '' Way said.

Anderson got the next batter out with a pop-up to first base, and the Wolves advanced to a Friday semifinal game against Wasilla.

Way, 30, stresses aggressiveness and preaches defense, which of course requires good pitching.

"If a pitcher is constantly pounding that first-pitch strike," he said, good things are likely to happen.

Bentz, 37, has a similar perspective about pitching and defense. "We want them to strike 'em out or get 'em out on three pitches," he said.

Bentz returned to Juneau for a teaching job that turned into an administration job, while Way is back in Sitka to fish full-time – seining for salmon in the summer and fishing for crab in the winter.

Lean and fit, Way doesn't look far removed from his baseball days. Bentz, meanwhile, says he's feeling his age.

About a month ago, Bentz helped the Juneau alumni team beat this year's varsity squad 9-8.

"I pitched two innings," he said, "and my knee is still messed up from it."